Any New York Giants fan seeking hope only needs to look to Sunday’s opponent. The Washington Commanders had been a rudderless franchise mired in dysfunction for decades before they landed quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft.
Daniels has completely rejuvenated the Commanders, who lead the NFC East with a 6-2 record entering Sunday’s showdown at MetLife Stadium. Here’s a closer look at the matchup:
Room to grow for Nabers
The Giants’ first matchup with the Commanders in Week 2 served as the breakout game for Malik Nabers. The rookie wide receiver had 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 18 targets. But Nabers had a crucial fourth-down drop late in the Giants’ 21-18 loss.
That game captured the highs and lows of Nabers’ rookie season. His incredible talent is undeniable, but untimely drops have shown that there’s still plenty of room for growth for the sixth pick in the draft.
Dropped passes are typically part of the package with top receivers. Puka Nacua, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams had the most drops in the league last season. Nabers has four drops this season, tied for seventh most in the league.
The issue with Nabers is his drops have tended to come in big spots. He dropped a third-and-7 pass that would have been a first down in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 26-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That forced the Giants to settle for a field goal to cut an 11-point deficit to eight points. Nabers also dropped a perfectly thrown deep ball from quarterback Daniel Jones early in the fourth quarter. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. bailed Nabers out by racing for a 45-yard touchdown on the next play.
Nabers had five drops in his final season at LSU, so this isn’t a new issue. It will likely just be something that crops up for Nabers, as it does with many other highly-targeted receivers.
Nabers was flagged for an illegal shift penalty in the second quarter of the Steelers game, which negated a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Manhertz. That was the second time this season that Nabers had been flagged for an illegal shift.
Nabers acknowledged Thursday that he’s continuing “to still learn the playbook.” He’s often scrambling to line up after the Giants break the huddle, with veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton serving as a traffic cop to direct his young teammate. The good news is that Nabers has already been so productive without tightening up the finer points.
It wasn’t going to be sustainable for Nabers to maintain his pace when he had 30 catches for 320 yards and three touchdowns during a three-game stretch beginning in Week 2. That hot streak ended when he suffered a concussion late in the Giants’ 20-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 as he failed to corral a fourth-down pass along the sideline. The concussion caused Nabers to miss two games.
Nabers has combined for 11 catches for 112 yards and no touchdowns in the two games since returning. Nabers said he has been seeing more attention from defenses recently, which makes sense because he torched one-on-one coverage early in the season, particularly against Washington in Week 2.
The next challenge for Nabers will be conquering double-teams. Nabers is a long way from being a finished product. That should be exciting for the Giants because he’s already proven to be a game-changer despite some rough edges.
Tracy on track
Tracy was a non-contact participant in Thursday’s practice, so that has him on track to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol for Sunday unless he suffers a setback. That’s welcomed news for the Giants after the rookie exploded for 145 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against the Steelers.
Tracy has 61 carries for 347 yards and two touchdowns since taking over as the Giants’ lead back in Week 5. That’s the third-most rushing yards in the league over that stretch.
That Tracy could clear the protocol on a short week coming off a Monday game should reiterate that the timeline for every concussion is different.
Neal left out
Giants coach Brian Daboll said the Giants will have the same plan at left tackle this week. That puts Chris Hubbard in line for his second straight start in place of Andrew Thomas, who is out for the season with a foot injury.
Hubbard is in his 11th NFL season, but he had never started a game at left tackle before Monday. He was completely overmatched in pass protection, allowing 12 pressures to Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith.
That was a brutal first matchup for Hubbard, as he was left alone with the dangerous Highsmith because the Giants had to use a tight end to help right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor block T.J. Watt most of the game. The Commanders’ edge rushers aren’t nearly as potent as Pittsburgh’s, so Hubbard should have a chance to settle in. His run blocking was strong against the Steelers.
Despite the dire straits at the position, there have been no indications that Evan Neal is an option. Neal said he’s open to playing left tackle, but he has continued to work at right tackle during practice. Neal has exclusively been a right tackle since the Giants took him with the seventh pick of the 2022 draft after he played left tackle in his final season at Alabama.
No (run) defense
The Commanders didn’t punt in the Week 2 matchup. They only scored 21 points because red zone woes — many self-inflicted pre-snap penalties — forced them to settle for seven field goals.
The Commanders had a simple game plan that opponents have employed during the Giants’ six losses: They ran the ball. The Giants have an abysmal run defense, allowing an NFL-worst 5.4 yards per carry.
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The Commanders pounded out 215 yards on 35 carries in Week 2, led by running back Brian Robinson Jr.’s 17 carries for 133 yards. Daniels was also a threat with his legs, gaining 44 yards on 10 carries, including four scrambles for 33 yards. Daniels, who leads the NFL with 314 yards on scrambles, has demonstrated a sixth sense for the first down marker when he takes off. He did a better job avoiding big hits last week after suffering a rib injury in Week 7.
Isaiah Simmons was ineffective as a spy on Daniels in the Giants’ dime package. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen adjusted in-game to an extremely light dime package with Dexter Lawrence II as the only defensive lineman. Lawrence was joined by linebackers Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Bobby Okereke. Simmons played in the box with nickel corner Dru Phillips and third safety Dane Belton added to the secondary.
Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson completed four passes of at least 29 yards on Monday. That was out of character for the Giants’ defense, which is in the middle of the pack in 20-plus yard completions allowed this season.
The problem for the Giants defense has been explosive plays on the ground. They have allowed 10 carries of 20-plus yards, tied for second-most in the league. They’ve surrendered 27 rushes of 12-plus yards, tied for the most in the league. The Commanders offense is tied for second with 10 runs of 20-plus yards.
“We just got to continue to eliminate the explosives,” Bowen said. “Those are what’s killing us right now. We’re giving up those four to five to six runs a game that are chunk plays that we got to do a good job of working to eliminate.”
Banking on Banks
Giants cornerback Deonte Banks remains under the microscope after getting benched during the second quarter of the loss to the Steelers. It’s still not exactly clear what led to Banks’ in-game benching after Daboll elected not to discipline the second-year corner for his egregious lack of effort on a scramble by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in Week 7.
Daboll expressed confidence last week that Banks had received whatever message was delivered about his poor effort. Obviously, that wasn’t the case as Banks, who had only missed three snaps in the first seven games, was pulled midway through the second quarter.
Banks will be back in the starting lineup on Sunday and Daboll again expressed confidence that the 2023 first-round pick will be ready to play. It shouldn’t be a challenge for Banks to get motivated for Sunday’s game because he’ll be facing nemesis Terry McLaurin. Banks limited Washington’s top receiver to six catches for 22 yards on eight targets in Week 2.
The Commanders’ passing game has improved significantly since the first matchup, with McLaurin’s production skyrocketing. He had six catches for 39 yards combined in the first two games. McLaurin has 32 catches for 540 yards and four touchdowns in the last six games. He ranks second in the NFL in yards and is tied for fifth in touchdowns over that stretch.
Banks and McLaurin have engaged in heated trash talk during and after their battles during the past two seasons. Banks figures to travel with McLaurin as he did in Week 2, so that should ensure the Giants get maximum effort from the mercurial corner.
A chance for a turnaround
The Giants and Commanders were both 0-1 entering their Week 2 matchup. They’ve gone in opposite directions since then. The 6-2 Commanders are tied for the second-best record in the NFC.
The Giants won two of their three games after the loss at Washington. They seemed headed in the right direction at 2-3 after an upset win at Seattle in Week 5. But the Giants enter Sunday on a three-game losing streak. They’re 0-4 at home and 0-3 in the division.
The Giants have a chance to reverse their momentum heading into their Week 11 bye, as they face the dreadful Carolina Panthers next week in Germany. So a 4-6 record at the bye would be in reach if they can beat Washington.
Prediction
Commanders 24, Giants 20. I declared the Commanders a bad team after the Week 2 matchup. I was certainly wrong on that. But I’m still not sure how good they are despite their record. Washington’s defense has been better than expected and Kliff Kingsbury is maximizing the offensive talent. Of course, Daniels appears to be a franchise-altering player. Still, I think the Giants should compete in this game. But they’ve found ways to lose and the Commanders have found ways to win. There’s no reason to expect a reversal of those trends.
(Top photo of Malik Nabers: Luke Johnson / Imagn Images)
